Better not call it a “party”
On this day, a bouquet of flowers or an evening with friends can be the dish of a party like many others, but things are not like that. It is not correct to think that it is actually a party. It is not a day of revelry, but a day to take stock of the situation, remember the battles, the discrimination and understand how to improve. During World Remembrance Day, we do not “celebrate the foibes”, but we remember the massacres, so we put aside cards, greetings and flowers and commit ourselves to everyone, women, but especially men, to take women's issues seriously.
Women's rights are not the same as those of men, neither in Italy nor in many other countries in the world. Women do not have the same opportunities, the same social recognition as men and there is still a lot of discrimination at work, on the street and in leisure.
Italy is second to last in Europe in female participation in the labor market, only one in two women of working age is active. Furthermore, when a child arrives, women leave their jobs and those who remain in the job market are victims of the pay gap and live at an impasse in their careers, because they mainly occupy positions of less prestige and less pay, and find it difficult to reach the first positions. Only 28% of management in private Italian companies is held by women. Furthermore, gender differences are also evident in education: girls are generally confined to certain areas, and their performances and choices are limited by stereotypes that want them to be less good than men in scientific subjects. Women spend more on consumer goods than men because of the famous and controversial “pink tax”, which sees Italy stand out.
Another sore point is violence. Whether physical, psychological or online violence, women suffer much more than men.
For this reason, it is important to teach equality of opportunity as a value from early childhood. The main gender differences are purely social and teach boys and girls, as well as their families, that gender should not be discriminatory and should be a priority to limit women in their life choices. Before we are women or men, we are all simply human beings. Worthy of respect, rights and duties equal to each other.
By Marica Marietti/San Salvo
